Written Answers Thursday 2 February 2006

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of single farm payments in the south of Scotland have still to be made and what action is being taken to ensure that they are paid as soon as possible.

Ross Finnie: As at 27 January, 24% of businesses in the South of Scotland constituency are awaiting payment. In contrast, some 7,000 business in the same area have been paid at total of £125,630,288.31.

  My officials are working through the outstanding claims with the aim of paying valid claims as soon as possible. Unfortunately, I cannot give a single date when the remaining producers can expect to be paid. That depends on individual circumstances as payments cannot be made until all scheme eligibility checks have been completed.

Audit Scotland

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what standards in respect of document creation and retention it requires of external bodies undertaking audit work in the public sector.

Mr Tom McCabe: This is a matter for Audit Scotland. Audit Scotland was established under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 to provide audit services on behalf of the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission. Audit Scotland is therefore responsible to them for the performance of these duties.

  Section 69 of the Scotland Act 1998 provides for the appointment of an Auditor General for Scotland. Section 69 (4) provides that the Auditor General for Scotland shall not, in the exercise of any of his functions, be subject to the direction or control of any member of the Scottish Executive or of the Parliament.

Business

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many independent (a) butchers, (b) bakers, (c) greengrocers and (d) convenience stores there have been in each local authority area in each year since 1999, showing year-on-year percentage changes.

Nicol Stephen: Official data on the stock of Scottish businesses is obtained from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) which is maintained by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

  There is no indicator for independent companies in the IDBR database and there is no standard definition that would allow them to be separately identified.

Central Heating

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why only non-condensing boilers can be fitted under the central heating scheme managed by the Eaga Partnership on its behalf when condensing boilers are around 15 to 20% more fuel efficient and therefore cheaper to operate.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The efficiency of boilers used in the central heating programme is set out in the Technical Specifications covering the installation of central heating systems. The specifications were approved by a working group, which included all the major power companies and other experts in the field and complies with Part J of the Technical Standards for compliance with the Building Standards Scotland Regulations. While more efficient boilers are available, the decision to select the boilers used in the programme was made after careful consideration of boiler efficiency, environmental impact and cost.

  It is the intention of Communities Scotland to review the technical specification covering the installation of central heating systems before announcing the type of boiler that can be fitted under the extended programme between 2006 and 2008.

Child Care

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has established a child care voucher scheme for its employees.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive is in the process of introducing a child care voucher scheme for all staff. A procurement exercise for a voucher supplier has been undertaken and the contractual agreement for the preferred supplier is currently being finalised. It is expected that the scheme will be in place from April 2006.

Child Protection

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were placed on the sex offenders’ register as a result of Operation Ore.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally. The Criminal History System (CHS) provides a central record of convictions in Scotland with a flagging system to indicate whether somebody is on the register. The CHS cannot be searched by reference to individual police operations. It is therefore not possible to cross match people targeted under Operation Ore against people on the register.

Child Protection

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of individuals convicted of a child sex offence since 1999 have reoffended within one year of their release.

Cathy Jamieson: The following table provides information on the percentage of offenders convicted of a crime of indecency who were reconvicted for any crime within one year.

  Offenders Released from a Custodial Sentence or Given A Non-Custodial Sentence, 1999-2002, Whose Index Conviction1 was for a Crime of Indecency: Percentage Reconvicted2 Within One Year.

  

 
 Percentage Reconvicted2 within 1 year:


 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002


 All crimes of indecency3
 11
 10
 12
 12


 Crimes of indecency with a child victim4
 12
 11
 13
 12


 Other crimes of indecency3,5
 8
 9
 11
 12



  Notes:

  1. For each offender in the cohort, this is the conviction which resulted in a non-custodial sentence being served or the one which had originally led to a custodial sentence being served.

  2. Reconvictions for any crime or offence in the Scottish Offenders Index.

  3. Excluding prostitution offences.

  4. Only those crimes of indecency which by definition had child victim(s): defilement of a girl under 13, defilement of a girl under 16, person with custody and care of girl and causing her seduction; lewd and libidinous practices.

  5. The Scottish Offenders Index does not otherwise hold information on victim characteristics so no data are available on how many persons were convicted of other types of crime, e.g. rape or indecent assault, which involved child victims.

Debt Management

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many debt arrangement schemes were entered into in the year to 30 November 2005, broken down by local authority area, showing the (a) total amount of debt covered by the schemes and (b) estimated average cost of administering each scheme.

Allan Wilson: Ninety-one debt payment programmes were approved in the year up to 30 November 2005.

  As of the 30 November 2005 the estimated average cost of administering each approved programme was £470 per case. Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) is administered nationally, and the average cost of administering each scheme does not vary from area to area.

  The table shows the breakdown of programmes by local authority area, and allocates a pro rata share of the total estimated administration costs for each area:

  

 Local Authority
 No. of DAS Programmes
Estimated Administration Costs(£)


 Argyll and Bute
 2
 940


 Dumfries and Galloway
 12
 5,640


 Edinburgh City
 1
 470


 Fife
 2
 940


 Glasgow
 1
 470


 North Ayrshire
 1
 470


 North Lanarkshire
 72
 33,840


 Total
 91
 42,770

Education

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Aberdeen City Council regarding funding for a new hostel for boarders from Aberdeen City Music School.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive has indicated, in response to correspondence from the council, that it should not look to the Executive for a specific capital contribution to fund such a facility. Our response also made it clear to the council that it should address capital requirements within the context of their overall school estate management plan, utilising whatever funding streams and permissions we make available through prudential borrowing, Schools Fund and PPP funding.

Employment

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the net change in the number of employee jobs in each Glasgow parliamentary constituency has been in each year since 1999.

Nicol Stephen: The following table shows the net change in the number of employee jobs in each Glasgow parliamentary constituency from 1999 to the latest year for which data is available (2004). Changes between 2002 and 2003 are not included as there is a discontinuity between the data for 2002 and 2003 as a result of a change in the way in which data for Parliamentary constituencies is constructed.

  Annual Change in the Level of Employee Jobs in Glasgow Parliamentary Constituencies, 1999-2003

  

 Parliamentary Constituency
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2003-04


 Glasgow Anniesland
 300
 3,100
 -200
 -400


 Glasgow Baillieston
 100
 2,100
 -600
 -300


 Glasgow Cathcart
 100
 -1800
 -1,200
 -1,000


 Glasgow Govan
 2,000
 5,700
 700
 2,400


 Glasgow Kelvin
 5,700
 8,300
 1,500
 5,700


 Glasgow Maryhill
 -800
 2,900
 -2,800
 -700


 Glasgow Pollok
 2,500
 300
 100
 1,200


 Glasgow Rutherglen
 2,800
 -2,100
 -1,000
 700


 Glasgow Shettleston
 -1,300
 1,400
 900
 600


 Glasgow Springburn
 1,100
 1,800
 -200
 600


 Total
 12,500
 21,500
 -3,000
 8,700



  Source: Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).

  Notes:

  1. These figures are aggregates from which agriculture class 0100 (1992 SIC) have been excluded.

  2. The data are rounded to the nearest hundred.

  3. Totals may not equal the sum of the constituent parts due to rounding.

  4. Data for 1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2001-02 based on 1991 census wards. Data for 2003-04 are based on 2003 CAS wards.

  5. ABI data are workplace based.

Employment

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average percentage employment rates of the working age population were in each parliamentary constituency in the (a) 12 months to June 1997, or closest equivalent period, and (b) last 12-month period for which figures are available.

Nicol Stephen: The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source of employment rates. Data from the LFS are not available for the 12 months to June 1997. However, employment rates are available for the periods March 1996 to February 1997 and March 1997 to February 1998. The latest annual data available are for January 2004 to December 2004. All these employment rates are given in table 1.

  Table 1: Employment Rates1 by Constituency, Scotland

  

 Parliamentary Constituency
 March 1996 to February 1997
 March 1997 to February 1998
 January 2004 to December 2004


 Aberdeen Central
 74.3
 74.0
 71.8


 Aberdeen North
 82.0
 81.7
 78.3


 Aberdeen South
 77.7
 81.0
 78.4


 Airdrie and Shotts
 65.5
 65.8
 72.1


 Angus
 81.8
 78.7
 75.9


 Argyll and Bute
 76.1
 70.6
 79.8


 Ayr
 71.8
 77.0
 72.5


 Banff and Buchan
 69.3
 72.6
 76.1


 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
 68.5
 66.2
 83.7


 Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
 64.1
 64.7
 73.4


 Central Fife
 64.3
 66.6
 74.8


 Clydebank and Milngavie
 63.9
 67.8
 76.0


 Clydesdale
 72.0
 70.3
 74.6


 Coatbridge and Chryston
 64.7
 62.1
 67.3


 Cumbernauld and Kilsyth
 69.5
 70.2
 76.8


 Cunninghame North
 63.1
 66.3
 69.1


 Cunninghame South
 70.1
 64.2
 66.4


 Dumbarton
 63.8
 73.1
 72.0


 Dumfries
 73.1
 71.4
 80.3


 Dundee East
 67.7
 70.3
 69.1


 Dundee West
 62.0
 64.6
 67.2


 Dunfermline East
 70.5
 71.6
 72.3


 Dunfermline West
 73.5
 78.6
 79.8


 East Kilbride
 77.5
 75.0
 78.1


 East Lothian
 74.5
 73.7
 76.2


 Eastwood
 77.6
 81.5
 79.3


 Edinburgh Central
 62.4
 64.7
 72.2


 Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
 72.5
 76.8
 76.9


 Edinburgh North and Leith
 70.7
 72.2
 78.3


 Edinburgh Pentlands
 73.5
 77.3
 74.9


 Edinburgh South
 63.0
 66.5
 68.7


 Edinburgh West
 75.7
 76.5
 83.1


 Falkirk East
 75.0
 73.1
 77.2


 Falkirk West
 69.7
 74.2
 76.6


 Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
 74.3
 68.2
 77.1


 Glasgow Anniesland
 57.8
 60.2
 68.1


 Glasgow Baillieston
 51.3
 55.4
 56.8


 Glasgow Cathcart
 55.5
 64.4
 77.0


 Glasgow Govan
 63.7
 68.7
 72.1


 Glasgow Kelvin
 63.8
 66.4
 68.3


 Glasgow Maryhill
 45.4
 49.0
 55.0


 Glasgow Pollok
 61.4
 57.6
 62.5


 Glasgow Rutherglen
 64.1
 63.8
 69.9


 Glasgow Shettleston
 44.7
 48.3
 52.7


 Glasgow Springburn
 50.0
 49.7
 63.9


 Gordon
 84.0
 85.4
 81.0


 Greenock and Inverclyde
 72.1
 73.0
 68.9


 Hamilton North and Bellshill
 68.4
 65.6
 70.5


 Hamilton South
 67.0
 60.6
 73.7


 Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
 76.4
 77.0
 82.0


 Kilmarnock and Loudoun
 66.8
 63.9
 72.5


 Kirkcaldy
 69.4
 73.1
 79.0


 Linlithgow
 78.1
 79.3
 76.2


 Livingston
 76.2
 81.0
 81.3


 Midlothian
 79.1
 78.2
 80.1


 Moray
 80.7
 71.5
 78.2


 Motherwell and Wishaw
 62.8
 64.5
 72.3


 North East Fife
 76.5
 70.8
 82.8


 North Tayside
 80.6
 77.4
 77.5


 Ochil
 63.3
 65.1
 73.8


 Orkney and Shetland
 82.4
 81.1
 85.5


 Paisley North
 60.9
 63.2
 71.1


 Paisley South
 68.3
 71.4
 74.5


 Perth
 81.7
 78.2
 78.8


 Ross, Skye and Inverness West
 72.4
 77.0
 83.1


 Roxburgh and Berwickshire
 73.7
 75.8
 78.0


 Stirling
 74.3
 72.5
 76.3


 Strathkelvin and Bearsden
 75.4
 76.5
 79.4


 Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale
 80.8
 79.4
 81.3


 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
 78.0
 75.9
 79.8


 West Renfrewshire
 78.4
 75.8
 75.4


 Western Isles
 71.9
 78.7
 79.2



  Source: Local Area Labour Force Survey, Annual Population Survey.

  Notes:

  1. Employment rates are for those of working age - age 16 to 59 for women and age 16 to 64 for men.

  2. As survey results, these are subject to a degree of error and implied differences may not be significant and instead be within a given error range.

Environment

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much land has been reclaimed or cleaned in each local authority area since 1999.

Johann Lamont: Estimates of derelict land reclaimed as reported by local authorities in the voluntary Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey (SVDLS) are set out in the following table. Information is not held on the amount of land that has been cleaned.

  Area of Derelict Land Reclaimed Since the Previous Survey (Hectares), by Local Authority, 1999-20051-5

  

Local Authority 
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


Aberdeen City 
10
2
0
-
10
*
5


Aberdeenshire 
*
1
1
1
1
-
68


Angus
24
1
3
6
34
0
2


Argyll and Bute 
-
0
0
3
-
-
3


Clackmannanshire 
0
6
1
*
8
7
0


Dumfries and Galloway
0
*
1
0
0
0
89


Dundee City 
16
-
6
*
5
1
7


East Ayrshire
54
38
73
71
9
8
1


East Dunbartonshire 
8
0
*
0
*
*
0


East Lothian 
139
4
3
1
4
3
3


East Renfrewshire 
4
0
0
0
*
*
2


Edinburgh, City of
12
1
0
-
36
1
4


Eilean Siar 
0
*
0
0
*
0
0


Falkirk 
16
-
6
7
7
26
39


Fife 
39
26
23
13
13
10
15


Glasgow City 
57
57
59
25
46
25
50


Highland6
-
-
-
26
8
2
2


Inverclyde
7
6
6
5
16
0
6


Midlothian 
6
9
3
0
9
14
1


Moray
-
0
-
0
-
1
0


North Ayrshire
*
1
0
-
1
3
2


North Lanarkshire 
108
97
51
93
55
44
49


Orkney Islands 
*
0
0
0
3
0
0


Perth and Kinross
6
9
15
8
0
7
22


Renfrewshire
7
1
5
2
9
4
15


Scottish Borders
7
-
7
0
-
-
-


Shetland Islands 
0
0
0
0
-
0
0


South Ayrshire
-
3
7
4
3
-
12


South Lanarkshire 
20
29
21
15
21
10
25


Stirling 
44
*
4
5
1
5
0


West Dunbartonshire 
12
8
3
5
4
7
8


West Lothian 
183
-
151
2
4
1
18


Scotland 
778
301
449
293
308
181
448



  Notes:

  1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

  2. "-" represents a year when a local authority did not carry out the survey. Where an authority has not provided data every year, the recorded change will be since the last survey conducted by the authority, and will thus reflect several years’ worth of change.

  3. "*" represents an area reclaimed of more than zero but less than 0.5 hectares.

  4. Sites reclaimed that cover less than 0.1 hectares are excluded from the survey.

  5. The figures for a particular year reflect the amount of land reclaimed since the previous survey. Thus the figure for 1999 shows land reclaimed in the period between the 1998 and 1999 surveys.

  6. Highland Council has carried out a partial survey each year since 2002 (of all settlements over 2,000 in population and the Inner Moray Firth area). 2002 was the first year that the council participated in the survey since 1993. Thus the figure of 26 hectares of reclaimed derelict land (in 2002) represents nine years’ worth of change.

Equal Opportunities

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it shares the Prime Minister’s goal of eradicating racial inequalities from the labour market by 2013 and, if so, how it will contribute to achieving this goal.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive shares this goal. To develop our response to it we have set up the Strategic Group on Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market, as detailed in my replies to the associated question S2W-22608 about the group on 1 February 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Fisheries

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce legislation that would make the current voluntary system, whereby the Crown Estate accepts the recommendation of relevant planning authorities in respect of fish farm applications, legally binding.

Johann Lamont: The consultation paper Extending Planning Controls to Marine Fish Farming was issued in October 2004. We are still finalising the details but our intention at this stage is to bring, as appropriate, marine fish farming under the control of the statutory planning system by summer 2006.

  A copy of the consultation paper is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 34210).

Freedom of Information

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on whether the Metropolitan Police is providing Scottish police forces with specific advice on how to respond to requests for information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Cathy Jamieson: We have no information pertaining to advice that may have been circulated by the Metropolitan Police Service to Scottish police forces. Police forces may co-operate when dealing with freedom of information requests in the interests of efficiency and consistency. This is an operational matter.

Freedom of Information

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times Scottish police forces have provided advice to the Metropolitan Police on how to respond to requests for information in England and Wales under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Cathy Jamieson: This information is not held centrally.

Housing

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the strategic management of investment in affordable housing.

Malcolm Chisholm: We will consult soon on a new strategic framework for the affordable housing investment programme. We have allocated more than £1.2 billion over this and the next two years for affordable housing, and set a target of 21,500 new and improved affordable homes to be approved over that period. It is vital that we target and manage this investment effectively.

  We need to ensure that decisions about where we invest take account of both national and local perspectives. The new arrangements will strengthen the role of councils and ensure that their Local Housing Strategies are the primary basis for housing investment decisions at the local level.

  We also need to ensure that budgets are managed in the most efficient way. Having considered carefully the views of local authorities, housing associations and others, I have concluded that this can best be achieved by retaining the current arrangements with no further transfers of budget responsibility. Communities Scotland will therefore keep the direct responsibility for managing the budget for housing association developments in all areas except Glasgow and Edinburgh where the budgets are large enough to justify separate administration by the councils.

NHS Hospitals

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the natural life of the buildings comprising the Belford Hospital is nearing its end and, if so, whether contingency plans will now be made for a new purpose-built hospital in Fort William.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is not for the Scottish Executive to form an opinion on such issues as operational responsibility for the strategic planning and day-to-day operational management of health care buildings is delegated to NHSScotland bodies, in this case NHS Highland.

  The Belford Hospital was built in 1965 with an anticipated lifespan of 65 years and has been designated by NHS Highland as a Rural General Hospital following a fundamental review of all hospital facilities. This review examined each hospital for fitness for the new purpose of delivering care as close to home as possible in line with Delivering for Health. The consequence of this decision is that the Belford hospital will be retained as part of the local clinical framework.

Olympic Games

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21643 by Patricia Ferguson on 12 January 2006, how the Scottish Steering Group for London 2012 will be equipped to monitor the potential beneficial effects on the Scottish economy of London hosting the Olympic Games in 2012.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Steering Group for London 2012 has members from Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and CBI Scotland. These organisations have significant contact with the Scottish business community and are well placed to ensure that Scottish businesses are aware of all opportunities created by London 2012 and monitor the benefits occasioned by this.

Olympic Games

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21641 by Patricia Ferguson on 12 January 2006, whether this answer indicates that it accepts the opinion of the International Olympics Committee that London’s infrastructure and transport and travel links are such that it is the only city in the United Kingdom capable of staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games and, if not, whether it would rule out the possibility of a future bid from Glasgow for such events, given that Strathclyde has the largest suburban rail network in the UK outwith London and well-developed transport and travel links.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive is aware that our major cities have world-class facilities capable of attracting premier cultural and sporting events. EventScotland works in partnership with a number of organisations to attract such events and this work is building on our reputation as a premier events destination.

  The Scottish Executive currently has no plans to support a Glasgow Olympic bid but would not rule out such a bid in the future. At present efforts are focused on bringing the Commonwealth Games to Scotland in 2014.

Pensions

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it took separate legal advice in respect of the removal of the Rule of 85 from the Local Government Pension Scheme; if so, whether it will to publish such advice and, if not, what its reasons were for not doing so.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has chosen to accept the legal advice of the UK Government in respect of the removal of the Rule of 85 from the Local Government Pension Scheme and, if so, what advice within the Executive informed that decision.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive which legal expert it consulted when considering the legal advice obtained by COSLA in respect of the removal of the Rule of 85 from the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received the report commissioned by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency in respect of the affordability of the Rule of 85 in the Local Government Pension Scheme; if so, what consideration it has given to this report, what conclusions it has drawn, whether it will publish the report and whether it will publish advice in relation to the report.

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether affordability issues influenced its decision to support abolition of the Rule of 85 in the Local Government Pension Scheme and, if so, whether it will publish the rationale.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-21675 answered on 17 January 2006. That reply referred to the statement by the Minister for Local Government on 2 December 2006 in the House of Commons which confirmed that the UK Government had concluded that the Rule of 85 is to be removed from the Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales from 1 October 2006, and that this was necessary to comply with the terms of Directive 2000/78/EC.

  In considering the legal opinion presented by COSLA on the removal of the Rule from the scheme in Scotland, the Executive took separate legal advice. It would not be appropriate to divulge the individual or individuals who gave that advice. That advice was given in confidence and I do not intend to publish it. It is a well-established principle that there is strong public interest in maintaining the right to confidentiality of communications between legal adviser and client.

  The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) has also received actuarial advice in respect of the affordability of the Rule of 85. That advice has been shared with COSLA and the trade unions and will inform the on-going discussions with them about possible transitional protection for existing staff. It is available on the SPPA website.

People with Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it advertises any support available to facilitate the transition from (a) school to further education and (b) further education to employment to make young people with learning disabilities aware of the availability of such support.

Robert Brown: The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 requires education authorities to publish information about a range of specified matters such as their policy in relation to provision for additional support needs. This could include provision available to assist in the post-school transition process. They must also provide details of any other persons the authority think appropriate who could provide advice and further information and support in relation to provision for additional support needs.

  Enquire, the national advice service for additional support for learning, is funded by the Scottish Executive to provide information and advice to parents and young people on a range of matters relating to additional support needs. These include: a new online factsheet for young people on getting ready to leave school; the Have your say video which includes advice and suggestions from young people about the process of making choices for the future; links on the young person’s website at www.enquire.org.uk to Skill Scotland and Careers Scotland. In addition, the Parents’ Guide to Additional Support for Learning contains a section on leaving school and information and advice is also available from the helpline.

  Careers Scotland provide key worker and other employability services to give tailored support to those young people who face the most complex barriers to entering and sustaining training, post-school education and employment. Careers Scotland advertise their services through a wide range of media.

Planning

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many planners are employed in local authority planning departments, broken down by local authority.

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are for planners in local authority planning departments, broken down by local authority.

Johann Lamont: The information requested is not held centrally.

Prison Service

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21502 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 December 2005, whether a passenger transported for torture is included in the definition of "passenger" by virtue of Article 155 of the Air Navigation Order 2005 (SI 2005 No. 1970).

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has nothing to add to the answer given to S2W-21502 in which the definition of a "passenger" is given.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of prisoners who have been convicted of a sexual offence have been assessed as (a) posing a definite risk, (b) posing an uncertain risk and (c) unlikely to pose a risk of reoffending, expressed also as a percentage of the total number of prisoners convicted of a sexual offence.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information is not available in the format requested.

  A recent Sex Offenders Audit conducted by SPS and local authorities identified that there were 459 offenders who had been convicted of a sexual offence and held in custody on the 18 May 2005. Of these, 10 were on remand, 444 had been assessed for the risk of re-offending and the remaining five were subsequently risk assessed.

  These risk assessments were conducted over a period of time, as some offenders had been in custody for a number of years.

  Following risk assessments, the SPS, in partnership with local authority criminal justice social work services, formulate a plan to manage the risk posed by the individual offender.

Public Sector Procurement

Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to improve the environmental performance of the public sector and what impact the implementation of the EU Public Sector and Utilities Procurement Directives will have on such performance.

Ross Finnie: This is a high priority for the Executive. Our initiative to improve the environmental performance of public bodies now covers 54 organisations. I have asked them to ensure that they have environment policies in place with full arrangements for monitoring and reporting by the end of 2005. My officials are now visiting many of these bodies to ensure that progress is being made. Targets for improvement of environmental performance in these bodies will be in operation from April 2006. We are also taking forward successful initiatives in the Health Service, in the Executive itself and through Best Value. We have, for five years, published an annual environmental report to document the Executive’s progress. The Directive will be helpful in permitting public bodies to consider relevant environmental aspects of technical capacity and ability in procurement.

Rail Network

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will be able to meet the commitment to deliver the Glasgow Airport Rail Link by 2008.

Tavish Scott: I am sure members will have welcomed the news that the Private Bill for the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) was introduced into the Parliament on 31 January. We are committed to working in partnership with Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT), the promoter of the bill, to ensure that their implementation programme is robust and realistic.

Rail Network

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the economic benefits of improving the Perth to Inverness railway.

Tavish Scott: We are supporting the Highland "Room for Growth Study" which has been commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which is examining both the constraints of the present Highland rail network and the potential for traffic growth. The results of this study will contribute to the development of the rail strategy.

Rendition Flights

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004 and (d) 2005 it has raised with the UK Government the issue of US rendition flights into Scottish airports.

Cathy Jamieson: Scottish Executive officials have been in contact with UK Government Departments on this issue as required, primarily in relation to the answering of Scottish parliamentary questions and other related enquiries.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21668 by Cathy Jamieson on 18 January 2006, whether this answer indicates that it would view any plane carrying suspected terrorists to countries where the practice of torture is used for the purposes of investigation as a civil aircraft.

Cathy Jamieson: The allegations which have been made relate to civil aircraft. Therefore, the Scottish Executive referred to the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation in its reply of 18 January to question S2W-21668.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many times it has been contacted with information regarding the existence of rendition flights by US agencies landing at Scottish airports to refuel, either en route to their destination or returning from it, and by whom this information has been provided.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has received a number of communications expressing concern that flights using Scottish airports may have involved unlawful activity. Ministers have consistently made it clear to these correspondents that if anyone has any credible and reliable information regarding alleged criminal activity it should be passed to the police.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to the dossier detailing evidence of rendition flights from the United States landing at various Scottish airports that was sent to the First Minister by Angus Robertson MP, as reported in The Herald on 18 January 2006.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has received the document sent to the First Minister and a reply will be issued.

Rendition Flights

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what inquiries it has made in respect of alleged rendition flights through airports operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd, following the publication of documents obtained by Amnesty International and by the Danish Government.

Cathy Jamieson: We have made no inquiries. Ministers have consistently made clear that if anyone has credible and reliable information regarding alleged criminal activity, it should be passed to the police.

Rendition Flights

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has taken legal advice in respect of allegations that airports operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd may have provided facilities to rendition flights.

Cathy Jamieson: In the absence of credible and reliable information, the Scottish Executive has no reason to take legal advice on these allegations.

Rendition Flights

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the consequences would be for Scottish Ministers if it were subsequently proved that rendition flights had used airports operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd.

Cathy Jamieson: It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Executive to speculate on this matter without credible and reliable information.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22335 by Cathy Jamieson on 23 January 2006, whether it considers it appropriate to now engage in discussions with the US Government in respect of the allegations that US agencies used Scottish airports as refuelling points for aircraft engaged in acts of "extraordinary rendition", given the on-going media reports on the issue and the opinions expressed by Senator Dick Marty in the interim report of his investigation into the existence of rendition flights.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has nothing to add to its answer to question S2W-22335 of 23 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21753 by Cathy Jamieson on 24 January 2006, in what way the answer indicates the Executive’s opinion of the claims made by Senator Dick Marty.

Cathy Jamieson: The answer to S2W-21753 set out the Scottish Executive’s position in relation to Senator Dick Marty’s report. It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Executive to give an opinion on claims made by Senator Marty. The UK government will respond to the report, as required, when it is published.

Rendition Flights

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22333 by Cathy Jamieson on 25 January 2006, whether the Executive has reached a position on the opinions expressed by Lord Steyn.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive does not intend to take a position on the opinions expressed by Lord Steyn. Ministers have consistently made clear that if anyone has credible and reliable information regarding alleged criminal activity, it should be passed to the police.

Renewable Energy

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its Environment and Rural Affairs Department has carried out any analysis of the environmental impact of small-scale renewables.

Ross Finnie: The Executive has recently reviewed its Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative. This showed estimated lifetime carbon savings of almost twenty thousand tonnes for around 650 small scale renewables projects supported by the initiative from its inception in 2002 to May 2005.

Renewable Energy

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment the Minister for Environment and Rural Development has made of the environmental benefits of the Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative and what plans the Executive has to raise public awareness of the environmental benefits of the scheme.

Ross Finnie: The Executive has recently reviewed its Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative. This showed estimated lifetime carbon savings of almost twenty thousand tonnes for small scale renewables projects supported by the initiative from its inception in 2002 to May 2005.

  We have been raising public awareness of the scheme and of renewable energy more widely with the Hearts and Minds tour which, during 2005, went to 36 locations across Scotland and had over 5,800 visitors.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish revised Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland (GERS) figures to take account of any mistaken allocation to Scotland of a proportion of the expenditure in the non-identifiable category on functions in England, or England and Wales, where expenditure on the corresponding functions in Scotland is identifiable.

Mr Tom McCabe: Treasury is consulting with UK departments and the devolved administrations to discuss methods for further breaking down non-identifiable expenditure, where this expenditure is not for the benefit of all UK residents. Greater precision in these source data will also lead to improvements in future estimates of expenditure in Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland .

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-22245 by Mr Tom McCabe on 20 January 2006, whether it monitors the cost effectiveness of its expenditure on websites and, if so, what measures it uses.

Mr Tom McCabe: The purpose of the Executive’s main website – www.scotland.gov.uk – is to provide an online presence which fulfils the ministerial commitment of open and accountable government.

  The increase in web traffic since 2003, confirmed by independent audit, shows visits per month up from 585,123 to 752,865. This is regarded as an indication that the site is operating efficiently as a principal source of information about the Executive.

  Executive marketing campaigns are supported by a number of websites which are located under the separate URL www.infoscotland.com. These sites are continually monitored and evaluated as part of the on-going measurement of campaign effectiveness.

  Used mainly as a repository of information the infoscotland sites also provide access to linked sites and on occasion act as a response mechanism. Regular statistics are produced and the sites use search engine optimisation techniques to ensure they can be found easily.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much ABC Electronic was paid to conduct the audit of visits to www.scotland.gov.uk referred to in an Executive news release dated 2 January 2006.

Mr Tom McCabe: ABCe received a fee of £6,408 (exc VAT) for conducting the audit referred to in the news release dated 2 January, 2006.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it held on visits to www.scotland.gov.uk prior to the audit conducted by ABC Electronic referred to in an Executive news release dated 2 January 2006.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information on the number of visits to www.scotland.gov.uk prior to the audit referred to in a news release date 2 January, 2006, shows:

  November 2004 – 585,123

  November 2003 – 493,997

  Source: ABCe.

Scottish Executive Records

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many documents it holds which examine or consider the case for Scottish independence.

Margaret Curran: The Executive holds many documents which in some way relate to the subject of Scottish independence, but no central tally of the number has been compiled.

Sport

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided to football supporters’ trusts in each year since 1999-2000.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it provides to football supporters’ trusts.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive does not provide funding or support directly to football supporters’ trusts. Funding was made available by the Executive to support the establishment of Supporters Direct in Scotland in 2002 to work with responsible groups of supporters looking to set up a supporters’ trust at their football club. Funding was initially provided at the level of £75,000 each year for the two years to 31 March 2004. Funding was continued at the increased level of £90,000 each year to 31 March 2006 to enable Supporters Direct in Scotland to continue and develop its work of supporting new and existing trusts. I am currently considering a business case from Supporters Direct in Scotland for continued financial support from 1 April 2006 and hope to be in a position to make an announcement shortly.

   Telecommunications

Sport

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether 3G mobile phone masts differ from 2G mobile phone masts and, if so, what new guidance it has issued regarding this difference in respect of planning and health.

Johann Lamont: 3G networks use a different technology from 2G networks. This technology is Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS), which enables data to be transferred at much higher rates than 2G mobile phone systems and allows, for example, access to the internet on the move. The area covered by 3G base stations is not as great as 2G, which is why there is a need for additional masts to fill in the gaps where existing 2G base stations have been converted to 3G.

  The Health Protection Agency has not advised that there is a need for any additional safety measures in relation to 3G exposures compared to those for 2G. The current advice from the Health Protection Agency on limiting exposure to radiofrequency radiation applies both to 2G and 3G emissions. As a result, the Scottish Executive’s planning guidance, National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 19: Radio Telecommunications, which includes the issue of health concerns and precautionary measures, applies to both 2G and 3G network infrastructure. A copy of NPPG 19 is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 15218).

  As part of these precautionary measures, Ofcom has been carrying out audits of the level of public exposure to emissions from masts. The measured exposure levels are at most hundreds, and usually thousands, of times below the relevant exposure guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) on limiting exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields. Ofcom’s audit methodology has recently been updated to include 3G in all its measurement audits and measurement of emissions from 3G masts continue to be substantially less than the public exposure guidelines published by ICNIRP.

Voluntary Organisations

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the duties placed on Volunteer Development Scotland include specifically helping youth organisations to recruit, support and train volunteers.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-22201 on 23 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Voluntary Organisations

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive in what ways Volunteer Development Scotland assists youth organisations in recruiting, supporting and training volunteers.

Malcolm Chisholm: Volunteer Development Scotland (VDS) is an independent voluntary organisation. Accordingly, there are no duties that can be imposed on it by the Scottish Executive and its work is not directed by statute. However, in 2003-04, the Scottish Executive negotiated a three year funding package for VDS to deliver a range of activities designed to implement the Volunteering Strategy. These activities support organisations, including youth organisations, to recruit, support and train volunteers and includes: delivery of the Millennium Volunteers programme; skills development and training for those who manage volunteers; making best use of ICT through working with the Volunteer Centre network to operate the www.volunteerscotland.org.uk website which allows organisations to publicise their volunteer opportunities, and improving Quality Standards, for example through delivering the Investors in Volunteering UK quality standard which aims to recognise organisations which provide high quality volunteer opportunities.

Water Charges

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the justification is for the level of borrowing, proposed in the Water Industry Commission’s determination of charges to 2010, being described as "prudent".

Rhona Brankin: The Executive asked the Water Industry Commission, Scottish Water’s independent economic regulator, to determine the amount that Scottish Water should be able to borrow in 2006-10.

  In doing so, we required the commission to achieve the prudent outcome of ensuring that the amount determined should be consistent with a gradual and steady improvement in the long-term financial sustainability of Scottish Water.